Amar Singh meets Mulayam, denies joining SP

Lucknow: After sharing dais with SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav earlier this month, former party leader Amar Singh on Tuesday had a closed door meeting with the national president again at his residence.

"Amar Singh had a meeting with SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav at his Vikramaditya Marg residence this morning," party sources said.

Later, talking to reporters at his residence in Gomti Nagar about his meeting with Mulayam, which lasted about an hour, Singh said that it was not a big issue.

"Hungama hai kyon barpa, chori to nahi ki hai, sirf mulaqat hi to ki hai (why there is so much hallabaloo, I have not committed any theft). I just had a meeting," he said.

The former SP leader said that geography can change, but not the history.

"I have family relations with Mulayam Singh, Shivpal and Akhilesh. These relations are not political or practical. It is a different matter that we are in politics," he said.

It is the first meeting between Mulayam and Amar after the latter was expelled from SP in February 2010.

Before this, Amar had shared dais with Yadav on August 5 during the inaugural function of Janeshwar Mishra park in Gomti Nagar.

Though he was invited by Mulayam, the Rajya Sabha MP had said it would be "extremely wrong" to add "political connotation" to his attending the programme.

"I and Mulayam Singh Yadav are doing social work for a senior political leader who is not with us. To be not present at such an occasion is not good," he had said.

SP National General Secretary Ramgopal Yadav had on August 17 ruled out the possibility of taking former party leader Amar Singh back.

"There is no possibility of taking Amar Singh back in party. So far no such matter has been raised in the party by anyone," Yadav had said in reply to question during his Mainpuri visit.

Amar, a former national general secretary of SP, had contested Lok Sabha polls on Rastriya Lok Dal (RLD) ticket from Fatehpur Sikri seat in Uttar Pradesh but lost. His Rajya Sabha tenure is also going to end later this year.